Sirk TV Graphic Novel Review: TORTURED LIFE
The essence of dark afterlife stories resound around the aspect of how far the story needs to go within the psychosis of what is happening. The impact of what allows or prevents people from getting to the other side is always a tricky psychological progression. In "Tortured Life [Dan Watters & Neil Gibson/TPub/164pgs], the main character begins at a certain age, seeing déjà vu of how people might die. This overcomes his entire life so much so that he becomes a shut in. He knows that his girlfriend would leave him but even worse he shuts down all connection to the outside world. After a year, he realizes that he needs to venture out. This decision is ultimately his undoing. The visions become worse than ever before. A dead girl Alice comes upon him and essentially opens up the rabbit hole. The question that comes up in the reader's mind is if he is dead already once a red skeleton figure tries to kill him. Tis "Bloodyman" as he is called leaves a vicious and extremely graphic wake of destruction. This graphic novel is a little harder than most giving it more edge but less mainstream appeal. One specific sequence in a bar and then with the killing of a cop, who happens to be Alice's dad, reveals the existence of The Order which is not a very well detailed organization. Beyond his Reaper-like status we also don't learn as much about the "Bloodyman" as we would like in terms of character structure. His existence as a metaphor is fairly two dimensional. The eventual reveal of our lead as a gate to the after world and his eventual sacrifice give closure but it almost seems like a way out despite being archetypally the correct one.